Hey folks,
I have an exterior stairwell on my 1940's house that decends to the
basement. Its all cement stairs with a small cement landing at the
bottom with a drain, then boxed in with cement blocks. It needs a
paint job bad. My question is 2 fold... 1) What's the best kind of
paint to put on something like this so the paint will last a long
time? (Also are there options out there that might be somewhat
washable?) 2) What's the best way to prep this stairwell so that the
paint sticks? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

"stratford1" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hey folks,
I have an exterior stairwell on my 1940's house that decends to the
basement. Its all cement stairs with a small cement landing at the
bottom with a drain, then boxed in with cement blocks. It needs a
paint job bad. My question is 2 fold... 1) What's the best kind of
paint to put on something like this so the paint will last a long
time? (Also are there options out there that might be somewhat
washable?) 2) What's the best way to prep this stairwell so that the
paint sticks? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

IMHO, paint in that application is nothing but an upkeep nightmare. Always
damp, one side usually shaded (or both, if you have one of those lid
things.) I'd strip the old paint with a pressure washer, or have somebody
media-blast it, patch the concrete as needed, and possibly apply a sealer.

But then again, I like the look of honest bare concrete, so YMMV.

aem sends...

stratford1 wrote:
Hey folks,
I have an exterior stairwell on my 1940's house that decends to the
basement. Its all cement stairs with a small cement landing at the
bottom with a drain, then boxed in with cement blocks. It needs a
paint job bad. My question is 2 fold... 1) What's the best kind of
paint to put on something like this so the paint will last a long
time? (Also are there options out there that might be somewhat
washable?) 2) What's the best way to prep this stairwell so that the
paint sticks? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Sears has a water based epoxy floor paint kit that comes with a
cleaner as well. Some of the kits have sand packets in the hardener,
avoid those unless you think the traction might be helpful. IMO it
just shortens the service life of the paint. Solvent based epoxies
would work OK. but acid etching the concrete is sometimes
recommended.
The epoxy paints ought to be washable and fairly durable.
All of this is a lot of work, so think it over before you commit to
it. HTH

Joe

Thanks for the recommendation. I've seen some of these kits, but
havent ever looked very closely at them. The ones I've seen are
usually described as for basements or garage floors...Do you think
they might stand up to outdoor elements?